JP4500955B2 - Cerebral evaluation device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cerebral evaluation apparatus that analyzes an utterance voice signal by using a chaotic signal processing method using periodicity of a subject's utterance voice signal, and measures and evaluates an active state of the subject's cerebrum.

  It is known that the activity of the cerebrum of a subject can be measured by performing chaotic analysis on an utterance voice signal uttered by the subject, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-348108 is a typical processing device. (Patent Document 1), Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-82734 (Patent Document 2), Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-116408 (Patent Document 3), Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-280105 (Patent Document 4), and the like.

  In the invention disclosed in each of these patent documents, some biological signal of a subject including a speech voice signal is acquired, and the signal is analyzed and diagnosed by a chaotic processing method.

  That is, in the apparatus or system using the chaotic processing method disclosed in each of the above-mentioned patent documents, a chaotic analysis method that has been well known in the past, such as Wolf's algorithm, Kanz's algorithm, Various methods such as Rosenstein's algorithm, Aurel's algorithm, and Sano Sawada's algorithm are used.

Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-348108 Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-82734 Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-116408 Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-280105

  In the prior art as described above, in particular, in the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, a voice uttered by intentionally applying a load that the subject can be aware of is acquired and The purpose is to evaluate. In such a device, the load is intentionally applied to the subject by increasing the activity of the person's cerebrum to the limit by applying the load to the subject and measuring the limit value. This is to evaluate / diagnose the evaluation of the activity of the cerebrum of the subject, for example, the state of brain disease.

  In recent years, research by the present inventor (Shoichi Shiomi, “Brain function model considered from speech analysis”, Journal of Kansei Engineering, Journal of Kansei Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 1, February 2004, p. 3 -P.12), the utterance voice signal uttered by the subject includes the utterance voice signal and noise that disturbs the chaotic nature of the utterance voice signal (the noise here refers to the brain area when the subject utters). It is considered that this noise is generated in the signals exchanged between the Wernicke area and the broker area of the cerebrum and the internal signals of both areas. Has been found to contain. And, the chaotic nature of the speech signal itself does not change much whether or not a load is applied to the subject, and it is thought that it is the noise part that changes with the load. Yes.

  Considering the brain function model based on the above consideration, in the conventional technique, applying a load that can be conscious of the subject merely increases the noise. In other words, the subject does not analyze the chaos of the speech signal originally possessed by the subject, but analyzes the chaos of the speech signal including the noise part. Thus, since the dynamics changes with time, a significant value cannot be obtained and the analysis is not effective.

  Furthermore, in the above-mentioned conventional chaos analysis, it is originally assumed that the object of the analysis is a stable system of dynamics (behavior limited by physical shape, etc., or a property that gives behavior). It is said. Therefore, in a system in which dynamics such as an utterance voice signal change with time, the first local Lyapunov exponent and the Lyapunov spectrum referred to in the Sano-Sawada algorithm are calculated as significant values. I can't.

  A system with stable dynamics is a system whose physical arrangement and length do not change. When such a system exhibits chaotic behavior, it is generated from the time series signal given by the system. The shape of the strange attractor is similar. A system in which dynamics changes with time is a system such as a living speech speech organ, for example, in which the physical arrangement and length change. For example, in a situation where / a / sound and / o / sound are uttered, the shape of the oral cavity from the throat is different, and the strange attractor generated from the speech signal is different.

  On the other hand, the speech signal is considered to be a time-series signal generated by a system whose dynamics changes with time due to factors such as the shape of the oral cavity changing from the throat during speech as described above. . Therefore, the chaos analysis method of each of the above-mentioned patent documents, which presupposes chaos analysis in a system in which dynamics is stable in time, cannot calculate the processing result as a significant value and is effective. It is not an analysis.

  Therefore, the present inventors obtain a speech voice signal uttered by a subject, which is a time series signal of a system in which dynamics changes with time, and the speech voice signal newly invented by the present inventors. We have invented a cerebral evaluation device that significantly measures and evaluates the activity of a subject's cerebrum by performing chaos analysis using a chaotic signal processing method that utilizes signal periodicity.

  Furthermore, in the chaotic signal processing using the periodicity of the speech signal used in the cerebral evaluation apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to relatively evaluate the strength of the chaotic property and the strength of the noise that disturbs the chaotic property. Therefore, as shown in Patent Document 1, it is not necessary to apply a load that is recognized by the subject.

  The invention of claim 1 is a cerebral evaluation device that evaluates the state of the cerebrum based on utterance voice signals uttered by a subject, and is a statistical information database in which chaotic index values of utterance voice signals of a plurality of subjects are recorded. An utterance voice signal acquisition unit for acquiring the utterance voice signal, and a chaos theory for calculating a chaotic theory index value of the utterance voice signal by chaotic signal processing using periodicity of the acquired utterance voice signal. An index value calculation unit, an evaluation unit that evaluates the cerebral state of the subject with reference to the statistical information database, and an output unit that outputs a result evaluated by the evaluation unit And a cerebral evaluation device.

  According to the present invention, a significant chaotic index value can be calculated based on a speech signal that is a time-series signal of a system in which dynamics changes with time. And by comparing the calculated chaotic index value with statistical information of the chaotic index values of other subjects, the activity of the subject's cerebrum is correlated with statistical data and evaluated, It is possible to evaluate (diagnose) the state of the subject's cerebrum.

  The invention according to claim 2 is a cerebral evaluation device that evaluates a cerebral state based on an utterance voice signal uttered by a subject, and is a statistic that records a chaotic index value of the utterance voice signal of the subject over time. An chaos theory index value of the utterance voice signal is calculated by an information database, a utterance voice signal acquisition section that acquires the utterance voice signal, and chaotic signal processing using periodicity of the acquired utterance voice signal. A chaos theoretical index value calculation unit, the calculated chaos theoretical index value with reference to the statistical information database, an evaluation unit for evaluating the cerebral state of the subject, and a result evaluated by the evaluation unit are output. And a cerebral evaluation device having an output unit.

  According to the present invention, a significant chaotic index value can be calculated based on a speech signal that is a time-series signal of a system in which dynamics changes with time. Then, by recording the calculated chaotic index value over time, it is possible to evaluate changes in the state of the subject's cerebrum over time and Presence / absence and its progress can be evaluated.

  The invention of claim 3 is the cerebral evaluation device, wherein the utterance voice signal acquisition unit acquires the utterance voice signal after the utterance voice signal acquired by the voice acquisition device is sampled by the AD converter.

  The voice of the speaker is acquired by a microphone. Since the acquired speech audio signal is an analog signal, it may be converted into a digital signal by an AD converter for chaos analysis in the cerebral evaluation device.

  In the invention according to claim 4, the statistical information database associates the chaotic index value of the speech signals of the plurality of subjects with one or more of the race, age, and gender of the person. The evaluation unit records at least one of the race, age, and sex of the subject who spoke and the chaotic index value of the subject, and the race recorded in the statistical information database. A cerebral evaluation device that compares age, sex, and chaotic index values to evaluate the cerebral state of the subject.

  When performing chaos analysis of a speech signal using the present invention, the race, age, gender, etc., and chaos index values are recorded in association with each other, so that the state of the cerebrum of the subject can be determined. More accurate evaluation can be made.

  In the invention of claim 5, the statistical information database records the chaotic index value of the speech signal of the subject in association with the aging information of the subject and the temporal change of the brain function disease state. And the said evaluation part is a cerebral evaluation apparatus which evaluates the state of the said test subject's cerebrum based on the time-dependent change of the test subject's chaotic index value.

  When performing chaos analysis of an utterance voice signal using the present invention, it is possible to grasp the temporal change of the subject by recording the chaos theoretical index value of the subject over time.

  The invention of claim 6 is characterized in that the cerebral evaluation device reproduces an utterance voice acquisition environment generation device for controlling the utterance voice acquisition environment and an environment designated by the utterance voice acquisition environment generation device. The utterance voice acquisition environment generation device is determined as an environment for the subject to reproduce at least one of video, image, and voice, and the environment playback device A cerebral evaluation device for reproducing the determined environment.

  When acquiring the utterance voice of the subject, by using the utterance voice acquisition environment generation device as in the present invention, by concentrating the subject's consciousness on the video, image, and sound reproduced by the environment playback device, Homogeneity of uttered voice can be achieved. This makes it possible to improve the accuracy of the chaotic index value calculated by the cerebral evaluation device.

  By using the present invention, it becomes possible to evaluate the activity of the cerebrum of the subject from the utterance voice signal significantly in chaos theory. Then, by comparing this measured value with pre-recorded statistical data of cerebral activity, it is possible to grasp the degree of activity of the subject's brain, for example, the progress of dementia of the subject, etc. I can do it.

  An example of a system configuration using the present invention is shown in the system configuration diagram of FIG. In the system configuration diagram of FIG. 1, a cerebral evaluation apparatus 1 according to the present invention, a microphone 10 that acquires a speech voice signal of a subject, and a microphone head amplifier 11 that amplifies a speech voice signal acquired by the microphone 10 to a normal audio line level. 2 shows a configuration of an operation input device 12 such as a keyboard and a mouse for inputting to the cerebral evaluation device 1 and an output device 13 such as a display and a printer. In addition to the microphone 10, any voice acquisition device that can acquire the speech voice of the subject may be used. The voice acquisition device is a bone conduction microphone (bone conduction pickup), and the vibration of the throat is obtained by measurement using microwaves or millimeter waves. Also included are radar devices and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the cerebral evaluation apparatus 1 according to the present invention. The cerebral evaluation device 1 includes an utterance voice signal acquisition unit 2, a chaotic index value calculation unit 3, an evaluation unit 4, an output unit 5, and a statistical information database 6.

  The utterance voice signal acquisition unit 2 is means for acquiring the utterance voice signal amplified by the microphone head amplifier 11.

  The chaos theoretical index value calculation unit 3 is a means for calculating a chaos theoretical index value of the speech signal based on a chaotic signal processing method using the periodicity of the speech signal. This chaotic signal processing method is described in the international application PCT / JP2003 / 16954, “Brain function model considered from speech analysis” (Seiichi Shiomi, February 2004, Journal of Kansei Engineering, Journal of Kansei Engineering) , Volume 4, No. 1, p.3-p.12).

  That is, first, the utterance voice signal read by the utterance voice signal acquisition unit 2 is sampled, and a chaotic index value for the sample time is cut out for each predetermined processing unit for calculating as a microscopic chaotic index value. . Then, a microscopic chaotic index value is calculated in the extracted speech signal of a predetermined processing unit.

  Further, the chaotic theoretical index value of the speech signal for a predetermined time is calculated as a macroscopic chaotic theoretical index value based on the microscopic chaotic theoretical index value.

  The microscopic chaotic index value indicates the chaotic index value of the speech signal for each sampling time described above, and the macroscopic chaotic index value indicates the microscopic chaotic index value. Is a chaotic index value for a predetermined time, for example, the duration of a phoneme. This concept is illustrated in FIG.

  The evaluation unit 4 refers to the chaos theory index value (macroscopic chaos index value) of the subject calculated by the chaos theory index value calculation unit 3 by referring to the statistical information database 6 described later, thereby determining the cerebrum of the subject. It is a means to evaluate the activity of.

  The output unit 5 is a means for outputting the result evaluated by the evaluation unit 4 to an output device 13 such as a display or a printer connected to the cerebral evaluation device 1.

  The statistical information database 6 is a database that records chaos-theoretic index values (macroscopic chaos-theoretic index values) of speech signals of a large number of subjects in correspondence with the race, age, sex, etc. of the subjects. is there.

  FIG. 6 shows a graph in the case where the chaotic index value (macroscopic chaotic index value) recorded in the statistical information database 6 is associated with the age. As can be seen from this graph, it increases rapidly from childhood until about 10 years old, then gradually increases until about 20 years old, and then keeps a substantially constant value until about 50 years old. After that, it decreases gradually.

  Then, by comparing the chaotic theoretical index value of the subject with the chaotic theoretical index value recorded in the statistical information database 6, for example, the chaotic theoretical index recorded in the statistical information database 6 when the subject is 60 years old. When the value is significantly smaller than the value, it is estimated that the subject has some abnormality in the cerebrum (for example, brain function disease, dementia, etc.). Therefore, the numerical value comparison is performed by the evaluation unit 4.

  Further, the statistical information database 6 associates the chaotic index value of the speech signal of each subject with the aging information of the subject over a long period of time, and when the brain function disease is recognized in the subject. Records the disease state in association with information over time.

  Next, an example of the flow of the processing process of the cerebral evaluation apparatus 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4 and the system configuration diagrams of FIGS.

  First, the subject utters something and acquires the uttered voice with the microphone 10 (S100). The acquired speech signal of the speech sound is amplified to the audio line level by the microphone head amplifier 11 (S110).

  The amplified speech audio signal is input to the cerebral evaluation device 1 and acquired by the speech audio signal acquisition unit 2 of the cerebral evaluation device 1 (S120). When the speech signal acquired by the speech signal acquisition unit 2 is not a digital signal, the analog signal is converted into a digital signal using an AD converter or the like.

  The utterance voice signal is sampled by an AD converter or the like, and the chaotic index value calculation unit 3 calculates the chaotic index value of the subject using the periodicity of the utterance voice signal of the subject (S130). That is, first, a chaotic index value for the sample time is cut out for each predetermined processing unit for calculating as a microscopic chaotic index value. Then, a microscopic chaotic index value is calculated for the extracted speech signal of each predetermined processing unit.

  Also, based on the calculated microscopic chaotic index value, the chaotic index value of the speech signal for a predetermined time, that is, the macroscopic chaotic index value is calculated. Here, the predetermined time may be, for example, a phoneme duration. The macroscopic chaotic index value calculated in this way is transmitted to the evaluation section 4 as a chaotic index value output from the chaotic index value calculation section 3.

  The evaluation unit 4 evaluates the activity of the cerebrum of the subject by referring to the statistical information database 6 for the chaotic theory index value of the subject calculated by the chaotic index value calculation unit 3 (S140). Since the statistical information database 6 records the chaotic index values of the speech signals of many subjects corresponding to the race, age, sex, etc., the chaotic index values of the subjects calculated in S130. And the chaotic theory index value recorded in the statistical information database 6 is compared.

  For example, in the statistical information database 6, when the age and the chaotic theoretical index values of a large number of subjects are recorded in association with each other, the age of the subject to be evaluated, the chaotic theoretical index value, and the statistical information database 6 are recorded. The cerebral activity of the subject to be evaluated can be evaluated according to the statistical information of the age of the subject, etc. I can do it.

  In the case where the correspondence between the chaotic index value and the age recorded in the statistical information database 6 is as shown in FIG. 6, for example, the chaos theory recorded in the statistical information database 6 when the subject is 60 years old. When the value is significantly smaller than the target index value, it is estimated that the subject has some abnormality in the cerebrum (for example, brain function disease, dementia, etc.). Therefore, the numerical value comparison is performed by the evaluation unit 4.

  The evaluation result is output from the output unit 5 to the output device 13 (S150). For example, in the above-mentioned example, the chaos theoretical index value of the subject is output by the output device 13 or displayed superimposed on the graph as shown in FIG. 6, or “There is some abnormality in the cerebrum” Such a result may be displayed.

  In addition, the chaos theoretical index value as the processing result of the speech signal of each individual subject, together with the aging information of the subject over a long period of time, and if the subject has a brain function disease, the disease state By recording it in the statistical information database 6 along with information on the revelation of the subject, the presence or absence of the development of brain function disease in the subject due to the change in the chaotic index value of the subject over time, or progression Enables assessment of condition.

  Next, an example of another system configuration of the present invention is shown in FIG. In the case of the system configuration of FIG. 3, an utterance voice acquisition environment generation device 14 for controlling the utterance voice acquisition environment and an environment playback device 15 for reproducing the environment are added to the system configuration of FIG.

  The utterance voice acquisition environment generation device 14 is a device that realizes an utterance voice acquisition environment similar to a visual acuity test and an audiometry. The environment playback device 15 is a display for playing back images and images, a speaker and headphones for playing back sound. is there.

  By using the utterance voice acquisition environment generation device 14 in this way, the utterance voice uttered by the subject is homogenized by concentrating the subject's consciousness on the video, image, and sound displayed on the environment playback device 15. I can do it. As a result, the accuracy of the chaotic index value calculated by the cerebral evaluation device 1 can be improved.

  For example, when the environment playback device 15 is used as the output device 13, the subject is made to pay attention to the environment playback device 15, and the utterance voice acquisition environment generation device 14 causes the environment playback device 15 to send a photograph, an illustration, an object shadow, and a vision test. A table or the like is displayed, the subject is identified by utterance, and the utterance voice is acquired by the microphone 10.

  For example, a question such as “What can you see?” Is asked to the subject, and when an answer such as “puppy” is returned, the speech is acquired by the microphone 10 as an analysis target.

  When the environment playback device 15 is used as a sound playback device such as a headphone or a speaker, the utterance voice acquisition environment generation device 14 makes the environment playback device 15 sound such as glass breaking, train sound, wave sound, etc. , And at first, the volume is gradually changed from a small volume to a gradually large volume, or is reproduced completely, and the subject is identified by speaking.

  For example, a question such as “What can you hear?” Is asked to the subject, and when an answer such as “a police car siren” is returned, the speech is acquired by the microphone 10 as an analysis target.

  The utterance speech signal acquired in this way is calculated by the cerebral evaluation device 1 by calculating a chaotic index value.

  In addition, the environment reproduction apparatus 15 of the above-described embodiment may be a target for concentrating the subject's consciousness in addition to video, image, audio, and the like, smell, taste, vibrations to be experienced.

  Each means and database in the present invention are logically distinguished from each other in function, and may be physically or practically the same area. The description with the database may be any storage means for storing some data, and it goes without saying that a data file may be used instead of the database, and the description with the database includes a data file. .

  In implementing the present invention, a storage medium storing a software program for realizing the functions of this embodiment is supplied to the system, and the computer of the system reads and executes the program stored in the storage medium. Of course.

  In this case, the program itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program naturally constitutes the present invention.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program, for example, a magnetic disk, a hard disk optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, or the like can be used.

  In addition, by executing the program read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an operating system running on the computer is one of the actual processes based on the instructions of the program. It goes without saying that the case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the processing and the processing thereof is also included.

  Furthermore, after the program read from the storage medium is written in the nonvolatile or volatile storage means provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the program is instructed. On the basis of the above, it is natural that the arithmetic processing device or the like provided in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  By using the present invention, the activity of the cerebrum of the subject can be measured from the speech signal without making the subject aware of the load as in the conventional case. Then, by comparing this measured value with pre-recorded statistical data of cerebral activity, it is possible to grasp the degree of activity of the subject's brain, for example, the progress of dementia of the subject, etc. I can do it.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the entire system configuration including a cerebral evaluation apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the cerebral evaluation apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of another overall system configuration including the cerebral evaluation apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the overall processing process flow of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a concept of calculating a chaotic index value when calculating a chaotic index value using the periodicity of a speech signal.
FIG. 6 is a graph showing the correspondence between chaotic index values and age.

Explanation of symbols

1: Cerebral evaluation device 2: Speech voice signal acquisition unit 3: Chaotic index value calculation unit 4: Evaluation unit 5: Output unit 6: Statistical information database 10: Microphone 11: Head amplifier for microphone 12: Operation input device 13: Output device 14: Speech voice acquisition environment generation device 15: Environment playback device

Claims (6)

A cerebral evaluation device that evaluates the state of the cerebrum based on speech signals uttered by a subject,
A statistical information database recording chaotic index values of speech signals of multiple subjects;
An utterance voice signal acquisition unit for acquiring the utterance voice signal;
A chaotic index value calculation unit for calculating a chaotic index value of the spoken voice signal by chaotic signal processing using the periodicity of the acquired spoken voice signal;
The calculated chaotic index value, referring to the statistical information database, an evaluation unit for evaluating the cerebral state of the subject,
An output unit that outputs a result of the evaluation performed by the evaluation unit;
A cerebrum evaluation device characterized by comprising: A cerebral evaluation device that evaluates a cerebral state based on an utterance voice signal uttered by a subject,
A statistical information database in which the chaotic index value of the speech signal of the subject is recorded over time;
An utterance voice signal acquisition unit for acquiring the utterance voice signal;
A chaotic index value calculation unit for calculating a chaotic index value of the spoken voice signal by chaotic signal processing using the periodicity of the acquired spoken voice signal;
The calculated chaotic index value, referring to the statistical information database, an evaluation unit for evaluating the cerebral state of the subject,
An output unit that outputs a result of the evaluation performed by the evaluation unit;
A cerebrum evaluation device characterized by comprising: The speech signal acquisition unit is
Obtaining an utterance voice signal after the utterance voice signal acquired by the voice acquisition device is sampled by the AD converter;
The cerebral evaluation apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein The statistical information database is
The chaos-theoretic index value of the utterance voice signals of the plurality of subjects is recorded in association with any one or more of the race, age, and gender of the person,
The evaluation unit is
One or more of the race, age, and sex of the subject who spoke and the chaotic index value of the person, and the race, age, sex, chaotic index value recorded in the statistical information database Comparing the cerebral state of the subject,
The cerebral evaluation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The statistical information database is
The chaotic index value of the speech signal of the subject is recorded in association with the aging information of the subject, the temporal change in the brain function disease state,
The evaluation unit is
Evaluating the cerebral state of the subject based on a temporal change in the chaotic index value of the subject;
The cerebral evaluation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein The cerebral evaluation device
An utterance voice acquisition environment generation device for controlling the acquisition environment of the utterance voice;
It is connected to an environment playback device that plays back the environment specified by the utterance voice acquisition environment generation device,
The utterance voice acquisition environment generation device includes:
Determining one or more of video, image, and sound as an environment for the subject to be reproduced for the subject, and reproducing the determined environment from the environment reproduction device;
The cerebral evaluation apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein

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